The Rancher's Surrender

restrained.

'I understand, you know,' he told her. 'I feel that need to belong somewhere, too.'

In the dim light of the barn their eyes met. His were surprisingly open and warm and caring. 'It doesn't make you a bad person, Zoe. Don't add guilt to your already-loaded burden.'

Did he really understand? The pain in his gaze told her he did. She'd seen flashes of his inner anguish before. What made him hurt so? Was it his past? 'How do you know what it's like?'

'I know because I came from nowhere.' He let out a breath, then spoke, his reply low and harsh. 'Belonged nowhere and to no one.'

She hadn't expected an answer, for he guarded his privacy as strongly as she. 'What about your parents?'

'My mother was a hooker, my father a thief.' He paused. 'He liked to hurt people. She liked to watch.'

Zoe hadn't known she could feel so much pain over words, simple words, but she did.

Abby shifted, nuzzled Danny. Danny made a sound of warm contentment and pushed closer.

Mother and baby as it should be.

Zoe sighed. 'Life sucks sometimes, doesn't it?'

A small, humorless smile crossed his face. 'Yeah, it does.'

Yet he hadn't let life get him down for long, she thought. Maybe she could understand his drive now, his need for control. He would do anything it took in order to be different from his parents, and she could respect that.

She had to touch him more than she needed her next breath, so she took his hand, which he squeezed lightly. His eyes warmed, and she knew he realized this was the first time she had touched him first.

'Is there anyone else in your family?' she asked.

'No.'

There was a great, encompassing hurt in his voice now instead of anger, and she knew there was more he wasn't telling. 'Did anyone help you?'

He let out a harsh laugh. 'You know what people expect of a kid like that.'

'Nothing.' How well she knew.

'Exactly.' He looked at her solemnly, standing straight and tall and proud. 'I wanted more than nothing, Zoe.'

She thought she could see him as a kid now, still standing straight and tall and proud, with bruises and torn clothing and nothing to eat. Her throat closed. 'So here you are.'

'So here I am.' His lips curved, easing his tight expression. 'And here you are, too.'

She nodded and looked again at Danny, feeling wistful. 'Why did you sneak in here like a thief in the night?' he asked as they turned side by side to watch his horses. She would have pulled her hand free but he held it tight in his. When their gazes met, he said, 'You know you can come in here any time you want.'

She nodded. She knew.

With a sigh, he turned her to face him. 'You helped bring him into this world. You feel a bond with him.'

'I feel a bond with you,' she admitted. 'And I'm pretty sure I don't like it too much.'

'I like it. I like it a lot.'

At the unmistakable heat in his expression, she stepped back.

He let out a soft, frustrated growl. 'There,' he accused, lifting a finger. 'You just did it again. Blocked yourself off from me. You just admitted we have a bond, so what is it? Why can't you just… feel?'

His body was close, nearly cocooning hers. Instead of intimidating, it beckoned. But she had to make one thing very clear. 'Just because I took money from you doesn't mean I have to… act on what's between us.'

'This has nothing to do with the money,' he assured her. 'It has to do with this.'

Dragging her closer, he sandwiched her between the stall and his powerful body, then took her mouth with his.

Chapter 12

Zoe was braced for a powerful, hot, demanding kiss, which she could have ignored. But when Ty's mouth met hers, it was slow, thorough and devastatingly gentle.

Time stopped. The smells of hay and horse faded. So did the sounds of impatient hooves and the night wind. Everything faded in comparison to the sound and feel of Ty. He nibbled at the corner of her lips, outlined them with his tongue, then lightly sucked on her bottom lip until she moaned.

Lifting his head, he cupped her face in his big hands. 'Don't hide from me, Zoe. Don't fight this.'

'Fighting… is second nature.' Her voice was breathless, and she realized she had plastered her body to his.

'I know. It's a defense. I know that, too. I just want you to be honest. You act so tough, so unfeeling.' He traced her jawbone with an achingly soft touch. 'But it's just an act. I can see the true Zoe in your eyes, and that Zoe I see feels, laughs… loves.'

He was so close to the truth, she couldn't stand it. He was the only one to ever have cracked her emotional block wall, and it so terrified her she couldn't speak, couldn't do anything but watch him with wide eyes as he carefully soothed her, his voice low and soft in a way she'd heard him use on his horses, on Maddie and even Delia, but never with her.

'Let me have that Zoe,' he whispered, his arms warm and caring and oh-so- comforting as they slowly surrounded her. She could happily have drowned in them.

Oh, why couldn't he be his usual gruff and rough self? That direct, demanding, bossy man she could have resisted. But this Ty, and the emotion he was drawing out of her, was new. It wasn't the dark, thrilling excitement she'd grown to expect, but a genuine, undeniable, irresistible affection.

And it terrified her.

'I won't be rushed,' she said quietly. She hated the expression that crossed his face before he managed to guard it. Disappointment.

'Why is it so hard for you?' he wondered, letting her move away from him.

Because you never tell me how you feel. She leaned on the stables, watching the horses. Because I hate the way I feel when you touch me, completely out of control. Because I worry how I'll handle it when you decide we're done. 'I just don't choose to constantly put my heart out on the line for something that's not a sure thing,' she said.

'There are no sure things.' He moved beside her, restless. 'But unless you try, you'll never know what might have been.'

She stared at him and he turned his head, meeting her stare unflinchingly. Waiting… waiting. But when she said nothing, could say nothing, he shook his head. 'Fine, feel nothing,' he said roughly. 'You'll never know what you're missing.'

Oh, she knew. She knew all too well, but she didn't have the strength to reach out and get it. Didn't know how, even if she'd wanted to.

And a little part of her really, really wanted to.

'Zoe,' he whispered, just that. Just her name in a voice thick with yearning, and even in her panic she recognized it wasn't a physical yearning, but something much, much deeper. 'Don't miss this. Don't turn away from the best thing that's ever happened to either of us.'

Her eyes filled but she didn't speak, didn't have the words.

He waited for an eternally long moment, but when she didn't say a word, he opened Abby and Danny's stall and slipped inside.

Abby nickered softly and Ty bent his head close, stroking her face. Abby blew at him.

Ty stood there with his back to Zoe, a tall, powerful man and an equally powerful horse, easily showing their affection for each other.

Zoe nearly broke down.

Then Ty hunkered low, speaking softly to Danny, who tossed his head, drawing a quiet chuckle from his owner. Zoe watched him put his arms around the foal, watched Ty's lean strength shelter Danny in a way that made her ache all the more.